


The Unknown World: The Journey Begins

by BirdiePlays



Category: Original Work
Genre: Action, Battle, Centaurs, F/M, Fairies, Fantasy, Fauns & Satyrs, Fighting, Gen, Magic, Monarchy, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Prophecy, Visions, War, powers, towns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-06-23 22:46:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15616689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BirdiePlays/pseuds/BirdiePlays
Summary: Three girls from a world far away from this one has to fight long and hard to protect the things they learn to love in their new home.  Hardships, romance, and bloodshed... but they will prevail, as they always had before now.  Nothing can stop them.But I'm sure that an evil king cause some very hard times.(I suck at giving this story a summary and this is my major story XD)





	1. The Portal

**Author's Note:**

> Hi ya'll! 
> 
> Welcome to the Unknown World! This story is my biggest work, and I'm hopping to turn this into a book in the future. Possibly even a series!
> 
> This is NOT the finished work. There are many scenes/details that will be saved for the finished work, but I am looking forward to input of the story now. Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

So, our story started like this.

It was a beautiful day out side.  Birds were singing, a soft, cheerful song that echoed among the trees, and flowers were blooming, giving of faint fragrance.  It was on days like these where kids like me were walking home from a long day at school.

After a few minutes of peacefulness, I heard footsteps from behind me.  Someone was running towards me, and fast.  I turned around quickly, but then smiled faintly.  Instead of a threat, like I had first thought, it turned out to be my best friends, Mira and Dawn.

Mira, who was also my sister, had short, but thick, light brown hair, which was currently pulled back with a purple bandana.  She wore light blue skinny jeans and a purple shirt with small, black flowers along the edge.  She was only fifteen.  Mira, like me, loves the outdoors and anything wild, crazy, and/or weird.  She’s a great person on the inside, but tends to hide herself under the name “Tatiana”.  Tatiana is extremely physical, and hates it when people mess with her.  However, she’s quick to stop any bullying that goes on in our school, to herself or others.  And while people have tried multiple times to get her in trouble, she’s still on a clean slate.  Probably.

          Dawn, on the other hand, was probably the most normal out of all us.  She was also fifteen, with myself being the oldest at sixteen.  She tends to be very reserved, mainly giving quiet support, but she really stands up if she believes something needs to be done differently.  She gets her hair dyed, and currently it looked like flames with a mixture of reds, oranges, and yellows.  Her straight hair stands out strongly against her light green shirt.  And, like yours truly, she loves music and art.

          Oh?  And me?  I'm Synthia.  You could say I'm the leader of this trio, but honestly, I don't really care about being a leader in this group.  Anyways, I love camping, animals, reading, hiking, horse-back riding… Pretty much anything outdoors and/or high adventure.  In honor of my love for outdoors, I wore faded jeans, a camo tank top, and hiking boots.  I also had a denim jacket tied around my waste.  On my shoulder I had my backpack with my school books and what-not.  My brown hair was long, thick, dark, and naturally wavy.  Usually I had it in a braid or in a ponytail, but today I had it down.  Normally I don’t do this, since I hate it when it gets in my face.  The waves in my hair shined as the light reflected against it.

So as Mira and Dawn ran up to me, I saw that they had serious faces and was running at their full sprint, their faces flushed with the effort of running so hard.  And that’s when I realized something was wrong, because they never run like that.  Not even when its capture the flag at PE. (Although Dawn has run like this when she was proving a point to a boy.)

          “Mira!  Dawn!" I cried out. "What's wrong?"

          Dawn was the first to reach me, but when she stopped she was still a bit flushed from running, and panted, "Portal.  By the school playground.  No clue where it goes.  You have to come see it!"

          Mira, quiet till now, piped up, “Yeah!  Come on, Synthia!"

          “Alright!  Alright!  I'll come but," I said, and seeing there faces at that was priceless, "I am going home first to get some stuff."

          Mira, slumped, said, "Fine, but be quick!"

          My sister threw me her schoolbag, I catching it with a grunt.  I swear if glares could kill she’d be a puddle of mush.  And on that happy note, they turn around and ran back to the school playground.

          I looked around after them for a bit, then turn and hurried my way back home, muttering, "How do I live with them?" But I was smiling. 

 

 

          Okay, now you might think I live in a giant house with anything and everything I want, with no one to bother me.

          If you thought that, well, no hard feelings, but you're _way_ wrong.

          I live in a four bedroom house with my Mom, Dad, little brother Jackson, and other two younger sisters, Tiffany, and Mal. It's a pretty old house, but its home, right?

          So I went through the door, calling to my mom who was in the kitchen. "Mom! I'm home!"

          I walked downstairs to my room in the basement.  Yeah, I know of the whole things with omens about bad stuff going on in the basement, but that’s where I get my amazing personality. [Mira, haven’t you noticed? I’m just that cool to live there in the dark.]

With the coldest room in the house, I had a warm bed and a heater on the floor.  My room is messy.  That’s the easy way of saying it.  I have all sorts of stuff on the floor, from jackets to old paper to math homework I forgot to turn in.  My bed is never made and the covers were turned over, upside down and crooked (this is normal).  By the wall under my window was my craft table. I had way too many unfinished crafts on this table, from duct tape wallets to sewing bags.  Again, completely normal.  Stacked by my bed stand was books, books, and guess what?  More books.  Another thing that’s in my room is the bird cage by my white dresser, with a little green and yellow parakeet inside.

I reached behind my door for my big backpack.  After grabbing it, I brought to lay it down on my bed, and I got what I thought I would need, even if this portal was nothing, which it probably was.

          I made sure my first aid kit was in the bag.  That’s a number one.  I never go anywhere without it, even at school when they say don’t bring it and leave injuries to the nurses.

Then I grabbed flashlight, some batteries, energy bars and granola bars, a spare set of cloths, and two big water bottles. I grabbed my pocket knife and put it in a pocket of my jeans.  I grabbed my bow, and my quiver of course.  Slinging my quiver across my shoulder over my jacket, and then putting my bow on next so it laid somewhat over the quiver. (This allows me to grab my bow much easier in an emergency, for those who don’t do archery.)

          Just as I was almost done, my phone buzzed dramatically in my pocket.

          _Wonder who that could be?_ I thought with a sigh.

          Picking up the phone, I saw that I had five new texts.  Can you guess from who?  Yup.  Mira and Dawn.

          I’ll just go through two or three of them, but Mira said first: _HURRY UP SYNTHIA!!!!!  WHERE ARE YOU?!?!_

          Dawn was much milder, but here is the result: _Synthia get your butt over here now we’re waiting for you after all!!_

                    I, knowing my friends, sighed.  And I didn’t bother to answer them, instead setting my phone on my dresser.  It was almost dead, anyways. 

          After telling mom I was going out to play with Mira and Dawn at the school playground, I set off walking my way to the school again, to where my friends were waiting anxiously.

          It took me about ten to fifteen minutes to walk there, but I enjoyed the walk.  I just loved being outside in the air, if you know what I mean.

          I was walking behind the school to the playground when I saw my friends again.  From their body tone, they were angry.

          “What took you so long?  And you didn’t even text that you were on the way!" demanded Mira as soon as I got into ear shot.

          Being who I am, I stared at her. “What do you think?" I asked sweetly.

          All I got from her was the word “Uh".  Priceless.

          After having my fun, I went right down to business. [I am serious sometimes, Dawn.  Don’t judge!]  “Okay, where is this portal?  I want to go in it right now"

          "Alright, but only if you tell us what's in the bag."

          Wow Dawn, the one to mess with me yet again.  I, wanting to go, said, “Fine.  I have spare clothes, first aid kit, fire starters, batteries, flashlights, some pens and a notebook, and some other bits and bobs."

          After saying all that, Mira and Dawn looked both bored and amazed at the same time.

          “Do you really think we'll need all of this?  Wait, never mind.  I know what you'll say." said Mira.

          “Alright.  Now let’s go see this portal," I said, walking to where it was.


	2. Into the Woods

           It was, indeed, a portal.  The portal was small, about two meters by one meter, and it was kind of in the ground.  It had a tint that was a mixture of royal blue, fiery red, and deep purple and it moved like a whirlpool, only made with power.  I could even feel it humming with power, it was so strong.

          When I looked at it, I wanted to go in it right away.  You might think just barging in isn't smart, but hey, that's me most of the time.  I do reckless stuff sometimes.  If it wasn’t me, than it was Mira’s job.  I was also thinking, because you don't want to go in and get hurt or something.

          “We don't know what's on the other side," I said, narrowing my eyes at the portal, all serious, "That's why I'm planning going first."

          "What?  No!" yelled Mira, while Dawn said, "We won’t let you go alone!"

          I grinned.  This is just like them.  “I’m going in first to make sure that the other side is safe.  I don't want one of you guys going in there and getting hurt.  Plus, we don't want to get hurt, because then we'll have to go home, and that's something we really don't want."

          Mira and Dawn, seeing I was worried about them, sighed.

          “You’re right, Synthia," sighed Mira, "Like always."

          I smiled and said, "Of course I'm right.  Come on through ten minutes if I don’t come back.  See you on the other side"

          “Man,” I said, turning back to face them, smiling. “That’s the fastest you’ve ever accepted something like this.”

          And with that I went through the portal.

 

          It was a forest, but it wasn’t just that.  This forest _loomed_.  There was no other word for it.  The trees went so high, it looked like they were touching the sky.  If you can’t imagine these trees yet, think of the giant redwood trees in California, and then you’ll know what they look like, but even taller.  Looking through the trunks of the trees, it looked like this giant forest went on forever, with thick vines coming down from the branches.  The leaves were bright green, and everywhere around me I heard birds singing.

          Where I was standing was a clear area.  It had thick grass all around the clearing by the trees.  The more I looked, the more I heard, the more I fell in love with this place.

          I even half way forgot why I was there.  After a bit, I remembered why I came here.

          I looked around, looking for anything dangerous.  I didn't see anything, which is good.  But to me, it was a little nerve-racking.  Normally there would be something that would be labelled as a threat, whether it was a semi-falling tree or a deep crack in the earth. 

          A few minutes later, Dawn and Mira appeared in front of me, and almost immediately the fell into the trance I was just in.

"Wow," whispered Mira, "This is amazing."  
          Even Dawn, who isn't really a camper kind of girl, was in love here.

          "What is this place?" she asked quietly.

          "You are in the Kingdom of Agradith, which resides in the Unknown World," said a voice from behind us.

          We spun around to see who said that, and it turns out, amazingly, it was a centaur.

          Okay, from what I know about centaurs, this was way different.  The centaurs I know of are mystic and they study the stars and speak in riddles and prophecies, had rough coats, twice the size of a normal horse, and no armor or weapons what so ever.

 This centaur, though, was about the size of a normal horse, with a chestnut coat. From the withers of that horse body, was a man from the waist up. He had a leather tunic that went well with his short brown, curly hair.  His brown eyes looked sad, like he knew something but didn’t like the way it turned out, or if it even happened at all.  In his hand was a bow.  Unlike my bow, this one was made of wood, and looked much more powerful than mine.

          After a few moments of shock, I asked, "Who are you?  I mean, I know you're a centaur, but what's your name?"

          The centaur looked surprised, and maybe a bit impressed, from my boldness of asking a second from what he has said first.  "I am Frienzis, little one.  But, if may I ask, who are you?  You aren't from here, I see."

          "I'm Synthia,” I said, seeing my friends were still looking in awe at centaur, "and this is my friend, Dawn, and my sister, Tatiana."

          Frienzis nodded, as if he wasn't surprised about that at all, like her sees girls alone and scared after coming through weird portals.  But again, he looked sad, or even startled, when I introduced ourselves. “Well, I'm sorry to say you're stuck here," he said, pointing to our right where we had come through the portal.

           I looked back and gasped.

           The portal was gone.

          "How will we go home now?" Dawn cried, "That was our only way back!"

          Frienzis bowed his head, and said quietly, “You wouldn't have been able to stay there anyways.  Once you come here, no matter how hard you try, you would just come back here.  It’s even harder to stay if you were born here.  I'm sorry for you girls to hear this, but you're stuck here."

          "You mean... everything we love, is gone?" I questioned slowly, trying to process everything.

          The centaur nodded sadly, "That is correct.  I'm sorry."

          Well no wonder why this centaur was sad. He knew we wouldn’t be able to get back home! Bloody centaurs.

          [No, Dawn, I didn’t mean that.  I was just mad and scared at the time, okay?]

          I look over to my friends.  Even if I felt scared, I tried to seem stronger and full of wisdom. [Yes, Mira. I did say wisdom. Now will you guys stop interrupting and let me get on with the story?]  "Well, let’s make the best of it. Yeah, we can’t go home, but we can make a new home here."

          “But how, Synthia?” Mira asked desperately.  I could tell she was trying to look strong, but I could see the panic forming in her eyes.  “We know nothing of this place, and we know nothing on how to survive!”

          “You forget one thing,” I said with a faint smile. “I know survival skills.  I know this stuff.  We can live here, for at least awhile.  Until we can find somewhere to work or something.”

          Mira still looked doubtful. “I don’t know, sis.  This place already looks pretty bazaar, and we just got here.  What else could we encounter?  We don’t have any weapons at all.  Well, besides your bow, but you don’t have any real arrows.  Something might come out of those woods, and we won’t be ready to fight them off.  Are you super sure we can do this, Synthia?”

          I nodded, determined. “Yes, I think we can.  If we work hard and stay together, we can do anything.”

          Dawn took a deep breath, slowly letting it out. “Well,” she said, “It looks like we don’t have a choice.  We’re stuck here, and according to Frienzis, we can’t leave even if the portal was here.  So we might as well make the most of this place.”

          Mira sighed, “I don’t like this.”

          “Tatiana,” I replied with a rueful smile.  “I don’t think any of us likes this.”

          Frienzis took a few steps closer to us, looking a bit more hopeful then before, which put me slightly on edge again. “I can help you, if you will let me.  I can teach you the ways here, and help you survive.”      
          A silent look passed between me and my friends.  We knew we needed help, and Frienzis was willing to help us.  I knew we needed this, but how much can we trust this centaur?

          Frienzis saw the look pass between the three of us.

          “I know you don’t trust me, little ones,” he said, bowing his head faintly, “but the others you’ll meet may not be as friendly as I am.  I may be your best choice, girls.”

          I looked at my friends again, then said, “Of course you can help us, Frienzis.”

          Turning back to my friends, I said with a confident look, “Well, let’s get started.”


	3. New Home

And so the work began.  Dawn, Mira, Frienzis, and I started clearing the area of the grass and weed, and while we worked, Frienzis told us more about the Unknown World.

          "The court system here is different from what you're used too. My friends and I will help you learn the laws and rules. Something you should be wary of, however, is that this world is believed to go on forever.”

          "Why do you think it goes on forever?" asked Mira.

          "It is because there is a point within the kingdom where travelers cannot continue any further.  The woods are dark, twisted, and filled with danger," said a small, soft-spoken voice from above.  “So most don’t find the need to continue beyond those woods.”

          Mira, Dawn, and I looked up, only to find that a fairy had said that.

           This fairy had wings, similar to dragonflies' wings, which rippled with color in the light.  She had curly, periwinkle blue hair that was really cute, and she wore a dark blue, one-shoulder dress with tiny purple, white, and black flowers around the edges and sleeves.  The fairy only looks about six inches tall.  _Okay_ , I thought, _if there are centaurs here, why not fairies?_

           Frienzis smiled, "Ah, it’s good to see you again, Diana."

          “My feelings as well, Frienzis," said Diana, also smiling, but there was something wrong.  I could tell.  Something in her eyes were dark and sad.

          Diana flew down from around Frienzis’s eye to ours.  She looked so fragile this close to us, but so extremely beautiful.  “I don’t think I’ve seen you around these parts before.  My name is Diana.  I’m a fairy that lives in these parts.”

“It’s nice meeting you, Diana," I said to the little fairy.  “My name is Synthia.”  I automatically went to shake her hand, but hesitated when I realized how much larger my hand was compared to hers.  Diana only giggled, placing a hand over her mouth to try to stifle her laughs. 

“It is alright,” she giggles.  “This is normal for us fairies when greeting humans and other larger species.”

I smiled sheepishly.  “Still, I didn’t think.  We don’t have fairies on Earth, so…”

Diana did a takeback (flyback?) at that, looking extremely shocked.  She looked at Frienzis, but he didn’t turn to meet her gaze.  “You’re from Earth?”

Mira nodded.  “Yuppers.  We actually got not too long ago.  Frienzis here is helping us adjust to this new life.”

“Speaking of which,” I said quietly, “We really should get back to work.  I’d like to get some form of a shelter up before nightfall.”

Diana nodded, smiling faintly in understanding.  “My apologies.  I didn’t mean to keep you from our work.”  Flying closer to Frienzis, she asks, “Frienzis, a word?”

So at that, we said goodbye to our fairy friend, and got back to work.  Frienzis stayed behind to chat with Diana.  

          I looked over at Frienzis a few minutes later, but something wasn't quite right.  Diana said something, and as I watched, Frienzis's face turned sad and full of grief as he bowed his head.

          “Frienzis!" I called across the clearing. “Is everything alright?"

          Frienzis, after a moment, trotted over from where he was standing.  He looked even sadder when I saw him up closer.

          “Everything is fine, little one.  Diana just told me that my mother died to... ah, never mind.  It's alright for now, little one."

          “Oh, Frienzis.  I'm so sorry to hear that," I said, feeling sad for our new companion.  Even though I just met him, I felt as if I could trust him with my life.  It hurts knowing he lost someone special to him. 

I went back to work, trying to push aside my sadness.  I started cutting down small saplings with my pocket knife, breaking off the branches.  Honestly, I wish I had something stronger. 

          After am hour of doing that, I stopped to look and see how my friends were doing.  Mira was clearing away a space for a fire to go, so we can both cook and to stay warm at night.  Dawn had had gone around, picking up dead branches, as well as the branches that I had pulled off the saplings I was working on, and made a small pile of firewood beside the area Mira was making.  But overall it was looking good for the first day of work.

          I went back to work, and, well, let’s just say I didn’t have fun. It felt like torture.  I had to pull the polls I made and drag them closer to a spot by the newly made fire pit.  Since the amount of polls that I had cut down (about maybe forty nice long polls), it was really hard.  I could’ve asked my friends to help me, but I didn’t want them to take them from their work.  They had just as important work that I had, and it needed to be done as well as the work I have.

          Before I started dragging those polls, I went to my backpack to see if anything could help.  Near the bottom of my bag was a good long rope. Maybe fifteen meters long. I don’t really remember.

          [Mira, I do remember somethings, you know.  Like how to humiliate you.  Now can I continue with the story, please?]

          So I tied two or three of the polls with the rope, and making sure none of them fall out, I dragged the polls by the rope over to the spot we decided on making the shelter.

          After I got all of the polls into that new pile, I turned to look over at my friends, who were across the clearing.

          “Do you guys want to help me start the shelter?” I called.

          Mira looked over at me. “Yeah, give us a second.  We’ll be right over.”

          A few minutes later and my friends came over to me, both sweating from their work.  I probably looked worst since I did more of the heavy work.

          [No comments from you, Dawn!]

          So what we did was put the polls into the ground, making sure they didn’t move too much.  We did this to make a square shape, but we left a small opening to pose as a door.  We made the square so the wall in the back was the tallest, the wall with the small door being the shortest wall.  The side walls where slanted.  This makes it so we can have a slanted roof.  Then we wove other polls in and out of the in-ground polls.  We repeated the sequence until we had wall on all four sides.  Then we took some of the branches that I broke of the make the polls and put it on the top of the walls, layering them to make a roof.  Smaller, leafy branches were weaved into the bigger branches, which helped with waterproofing.  Just keep in mind that I said _helped_.  It won’t keep out all water.

          We were working on the roof, when Frienzis trotted over, Diana at his shoulder, but he was looking slightly nervous. “Girls, there’s something I need to tell you.  It’s… it’s about your powers.”

          At first, we were too shocked to speak.

          Powers?  I thought in amazement.  First we get pulled to this place, now we are able to get powers?  We might yet be able to live in the place.

          “Powers?” I asked, again the first to speak up. “What powers?”

          “Everyone here has some sort of power,” he answered.  “Whether it’s healing, to combat magic, to being able to sense things from far away.  My power is seeing the intent of someone.”

          I let out a soft whistle. “Wow,” I said.  “And that’s only some of the powers?”

          Frienzis nodded. “Yes.  There are many, many more powers then that.  Some can only be used by certain kinds of clans or tribes.  Others can be learned by anyone.  Healing magic is one of those.  The process of gaining powers, like you three will experience, can be very different for each individual.”

          “How so?” Mira asked.

          “Well,” said the centaur.  “The Changing, as some call it, could take weeks to complete.  Others say their Changing only took a few days, but not many.  Another way of gaining your powers is having a trigger, such as a strong emotion such as rage.  There really is no exact science to the Changing, besides the fact those outside Agradith experience it.”

          Mira looked like the whole thing about powers was cool and awesome and all of that, but she also looked weary, like something was on her mind. “Are there bad powers?” She asked.

          Frienzis eyes turned darker, and turned away to look through the trees, like something was haunting him. “Yes.  There are powers that are bad and dark. There are good powers used in bad ways, however.  The one that is known as the worst of them all is the ability to take others’ powers.”

          I was shocked.  This pretty land wasn’t looking to nice and calm all of a sudden.  I sent a quick look at the forests’ edge before looking back at the centaur. 

          “Do you know anyone who has that power?” Dawn asked fearfully.

          “Sadly, yes,” said the centaur with a sigh. “Supposedly, only one soul at a time can hold this power.  From what I’ve heard, if someone was to kill the person holding this power, they gain it.”

“Who is this person?” I asked, cautiously. 

“I have not met this man in person, but everyone knows of him.  His name Alvah Dalzell, King of Agradith,” Frienzis says softly, bowing his head.  Everything went quiet, as if the towering trees around us were afraid of him, as well.

          “So... even if we get cool powers, this king dude will take them away?”  I asked, feeling small and scare, but I tried to keep that from showing.  My friends needed me to stay strong, even if they would never admit that. [Oh, you know it’s true, Mira! Don’t deny it!]

          Frienzis turned back to us.  “I’m not planning on that.  This cannot, and will not, continue any longer.  The King is cruel and ruthless.  Many in this world want to see him dethroned.”

          “You mean he’s so bad people want him to lose everything?”  Dawn asked, shocked.

          “Yes,” Frienzis replied, “The King has been letting many criminals run lose, but imprisoning the good.  And to make matters worse, he hunts down and kills the families of those in jail, but not before he takes their powers to make him stronger.”

          Then a thought hit me.  A king that kills people to grow stronger, Frienzis’s mother passing away and he cutting off quick… “He killed your mother, didn’t he Frienzis?”

          I heard my friends’ gasps of surprise and shock from behind me, but I kept looking at Frienzis with concern.

          Frienzis’s eyes went dull and unfocused faster than I imagined possible. “Yes.  He killed her.”

          Diana spoke up for the first time since they came over. “Girls, what we’re trying to say is we won’t let Alvah get his hands on you.  I don’t think you know, but-”

          “Diana,” Frienzis interrupted sternly, snapping out of his dark mood in an instant.  “Now is not the time for them to know.  They just got here.  I will tell them later, once they are ready.”

          “But Frienzis!” exclaimed Diana.  “What if _he_ finds them first?  Before they are ‘ready’?”

          They looked at each other, saying nothing.  It was some time before Frienzis spoke up again.  “I will tell them when they are ready.” 

          Diana said nothing in reply, just nodded once with a weary expression.

_They’re hiding something,_ I thought, _and it doesn’t sound good._  I wanted to ask about what they were talking about, but I knew Frienzis wouldn’t say anymore.  So I gave in and let the matter go.  For now, that is.

          I looked at Frienzis. “Thank you, Frienzis.  Thank you for helping us with getting situated here.  We probably couldn’t have gotten this far without you.”

          Frienzis bowed his head in our direction. “It’s been my pleasure.”

          Even as we finished working on the roof for the shelter, the thought didn’t leave my head.  They know something about us, yet they aren’t telling us.  They are hiding something big from us.  Something that seems more than just important.  What are they hiding?


	4. First of the Three

By the time the sun was about to set behind the trees, the shelter was done.  When I mean done, I mean livable.  There was still so much work we had to do, but we got enough done for tonight that we’ll save the rest for the days to come.

          So we sat around the little fire we had started.  Well, my friends and I were here sitting.  Frienzis and Diana had moved to the forest, by a small opening into the woods, and were talking in hushed tones, despite being out of hearing range. 

          I tried not to stare, but I kept looking over at Frienzis and Diana.  Mira saw my interest.

          “Something up, Synthia?” she asked.

          “Hmm?” I said, still looking at Frienzis and the woods behind him.

          Mira sighed in annoyance. “Synthia!  Come on.  Snap out of it!”

          “What?” I said, a little annoyed myself.  I turned to face the others, and I saw the concern on their faces.

          “Is everything okay?” Mira asked. “You seem distant for a while now.”

          “Oh.  Yeah, everything’s fine.  Just thinking about Frienzis.” I said, my eyes straying back to the centaur.

          Mira and Dawn fallowed my gaze.

          “I’m sure he’ll be fine, Synthia,” said Dawn. “He’s been so much help, though.  I don’t know how we could thank him.”

          As she was talking, something strange went through me.  First it started at my heart, but it soon spread throughout my body.  At first it wasn’t pain, just a funny feeling like a feather or breeze rubbing against your skin, but it quickly turned into pain.  Hard, fiery, pain.

          I gasped in pain and doubled over.  I could dully hear Mira calling my name, and Dawn yelling across the clearing for Frienzis.  My vision made me looked like I was staring down a tunnel, darkness surrounding me.  This only made me panic further. 

          I heard fast hooves steps and the next thing I knew Frienzis was knelling beside me, folding his legs underneath him.  I was in too much pain to full process that he was even there.

          He put a hand on my forehead, which made me nearly scream in pain, but all that came out was a loud groan.  My insides felt like they were turning into molten lead, especially around my heart. 

          After a moment, Frienzis announced with a sigh of relief, “She’ll be fine.”

          “Do you know what’s going on with her?” Dawn asked worriedly.

          Frienzis looked from Dawn, to Mira, to me. “She’s gaining her power.  Usually it takes a few days after arriving here before the Changing happens.  But, apparently, she’s different.”

          Mira looked panicked, Dawn in a similar state.  Their eyes were wide and they were breathing heavily.  But again, I was in too much pain to care, or even fully notice.

          “But will she be okay?” Mira snapped.

          That was the last thing I heard before I lost consciousness and heard and saw nothing more.

 

          When I woke up, I saw the new roof of the shelter, the dim light peeking through the leaves.  I could tell it was early morning.  I was laying on soft grass that Mira found the other day while working.  We decided that we would use the grass as bedding.  It was a temporary solution, at least. 

          I went to rise, but then I felt the terrible headache throughout my skull.  I fell back to the ground, moaning slightly in pain.  For some reason, I felt different.  The feeling was like being troubled after a bad dream, but it was different, like if it was a bad dream, but I felt happy about it.  But I wasn’t even happy. 

          I went to rise again, and this time I was able to sit up, feeling slightly dizzy.  After I let the dizziness fade away, I crawled out of the shelter and into the light.

          Mira and Dawn were sitting around a small fire.  Frienzis stood behind them.  They all had their backs to me, so they didn’t realize that I was awake.  I could just hear them murmuring to themselves.

          “You sure she’ll be alright?” Mira asked Frienzis.

          “Positive.” He said, but something was hidden in his voice, like he wasn’t quite believing his own words.

          After a few moments, Dawn asked quietly, “Do you know what her power is going to be?”  
          Frienzis shook his head. “Not until she uses it. Until then, no one will know.”

          Another pause.  I could tell that Mira and Dawn had calmed down a bit.  Now it’s time for me to make my presence known.

          I climbed out of the shelter completely, standing up in the dull sunlight of… afternoon?  How long was I out for?  Frienzis heard me moving and turned to look.

          “Ah, good afternoon, little one.  I see you’re not completely in pain anymore.”

          Dawn and Mira spun around. “Synthia!” they chorused.  They then got up and rushed toward me, tackling me in a hug.

          “Owe,” I said faintly, feeling my headache pulse again.

          Immediately they stepped back.  Concern had formed on their faces as they did so.  I felt bad for scaring them, even if I couldn’t controlled what happened.  I didn’t want them to be worried for me, because if there was something bad and serious, like a fight, it could hurt them if they were busy watching out for me.  I can’t bear to let that happen.

          “Are you okay?” my sister asked worriedly.

          I nodded faintly, then stop almost instantly as my headache surged again. “I’m fine.  Just a headache, that’s all.”  
          “A headache?” Frienzis asked with a worried frown.

          “Really, I’m fine now.” I looked to my friends. “Now, want something to eat?  I got some granola bars in my backpack.”  
          Both of my friends shook their heads.

          “Not really hungry.” Mira said. Dawn chorused her.

          “If you say so.  Now let’s get back to work on making this clearing livable.”

          “No,” Frienzis said suddenly. 

          “What?” I asked, confused and starting to get frustrated.

          “Synthia, you don’t have the strength to do that kind of work,” replied the centaur.  “You are not ready.  If you do any work you might collapse again.”

          I grunted.  I didn’t like to relax if it meant my friends had to do the hard work.  I was always the one to work the hardest, and that goes for pretty much anything.  Sports, reading, service projects, you name it.  I try to do my part, leading everyone to do their best.  It’s not me to have others to do the work for me.

          On the other hand, Frienzis had a point.  Even now I felt like I was going to drop.  My head kept spinning with the raging headache I have.  I realize that if I went to work now, I could hurt myself even further.  I know that would make my friends even more hurt.  They would blame themselves for my injury, when they could have tried to stop me.  I didn’t want that on my friends.

          I sighed, seeing defeat. “Alright, fine.  I won’t work until I’ve recovered.”

          Frienzis nodded in agreement.  He came closer to me, bending down slightly.  He then said softly so the others couldn’t here.  “Synthia, your friends value you.  The way you handled coming here, and protecting your friends, you made me value you as well.  I think you might play a bigger part in this world then you think.”

          And with that, the centaur bowed his head and trotted over to a forest trail and walked into the forest, their shadows engulfing him, leaving me confused.

          My friends and I stared at the spot where he had disappeared.

          “Well…,” Mira said faintly, still staring at that spot. “That was weird.”

          “Yeah.” Said Dawn. Turning to me, she said, “Now, Synthia.  You go back inside the shelter and get some rest.  We need you in top shape, and better to start now then later.”

          I rolled my eyes and said sarcastically, “Yes, mother.”

          She grinned happily.

          [Stop smirking, Mira.  You’re just as bad as she is.]

          “Go on, Synthia.” Mira said, seeing how reluctant I was. “If we need help or any survival knowledge, we’ll come and get you.”

          Dawn winked, and both my friends turned and walked away to do whatever work they planned for the rest of the day, leaving me by the shelter, alone.

 

          I hated resting.  I hated standing still.  If I didn’t have anything to do, I was moving around or stalking or I was just plan bored.  It makes me want to do something.  Alas, I have to stay put for this one. I couldn’t walk or even stalk.  Not this time.

          So I went inside, laying down on the soft grass laid there.  It wasn’t as comfortable as a bed and sheets, but it’s still alright.  Better than nothing at all. 

          Staring at the roof of leaves, I thought about what just happened.  I had just been pushed away by my best friends so I can recover.  But as I do that, they go work on the place where we’ll be living for who knows how long.  Maybe till we get money to buy a real house here, or we find a way to get back home and stay there.

          Thinking about home and all that I left behind made me sad.  I didn’t even say goodbye to my other siblings, who were still at school or at other activities when I left.  All I said to my mom before I left was that I was heading out to play with my friends.  My dad was at work, and wasn’t going to get back to later that night.  I started tearing up at these thoughts that swarmed through my head.  I might never see them again. 

          Angrily, I wiped away the tears.  I didn’t have time for this.  What’s done is done, and nothing can change that.  At least, nothing right now.  Who knows?  We might find a way, or we can bring them here, but somehow, I think that would be too cruel.  I can be bossy sometimes, either real or just joking around with my friends, but I’m not cruel.  I probably would never be able to bring any others from Earth here by choice.

         As these thoughts went through me and I processed them, I started crying yet again.  This time I didn’t bother to swipe them away.  And I was crying as I fell asleep, not knowing I did so.

        When I woke up, it was in the middle of the night, if the pale light of the moon told me anything.  Mira and Dawn were sleeping soundly beside me.  I had no clue when they got there, or even what time it is.

        Something felt… different about me.  I felt calmer.  More relaxed.  I didn’t feel any more pain, and my headache was gone.  I could hear an owl hoot from far away, but to me, it felt like he was right next to me.  I had this strong urge.  An urge to go into the forest, just to be even more at peace.

        I sat up quietly, being careful not to wake my friends.  I crawled out of the shelter, and walked quietly to a trail into the forest.  Without realizing it, I went to the same trail Frienzis used hours ago.

        I stopped right before I went in.  I wasn’t sure if I should leave my friends like this, but the urge was so strong.  And so tempting.

        I looked almost hungrily into the woods, and without another thought, I went in, the shadows of the giant forest and of night engulfing me.

        [Yes, Dawn, I tried to make that dramatic.  Hush now.]

        As I walked down the trail, I felt even more at peace, even with the sounds of the night.  I heard an owl hoot far away, probably the same owl I heard earlier.  I heard the soft, gentle wind brushing the tops of the trees, making them sway in the dark night.  A full moon rose, just barely peeking through the thick branches of the forest roof.  There were bushes along the trail, full of berries and flowers.  Because it was so dark, I couldn’t tell if they were safe to eat, but I wasn’t hungry then, so I just walked by them without another glance.

        I heard soft footsteps behind me, and slightly to the right.  I turned around to see a fox with rusty red fur cross the trail behind me, barely taking any notice of me.  For some reason, I wasn’t bothered by this at all.  The more I saw, the more I heard, the more I felt at home and at peace.

          I don’t know how long I walked.  Must’ve been hours, but it only felt like minutes to me.  All I know was to keep walking along the trail.

          Eventually, the sounds stopped, like the forest was holding its breath. Up ahead the trees cleared out into a big clearing.  But the clearing wasn’t empty. In the middle of the giant clearing was a huge fortress.

          I’m not joking.  This thing was, like, twenty stories tall, with huge courtyards, filled with grassy fields and walkways.  Even in the dark, it glowed with light from torches all around the whole thing.  Flags hung under windows, shifting colors in the night, but from what I could see, most of the flags were black and purple.  Around this castle was a giant wall, maybe three or four meters tall.  There was a large moat around the walls, with a drawbridge at one side.  The drawbridge, unsurprisingly, was up for the night.

          On the tops of the walls were smaller towers dotted along the wall about five to ten meters apart.  Walking between these towers were guards, their armor glinting in the torch light.  The guards had all sorts of weapons. Swords, axes, bows, spears, you name it.

          As I was looking around, the drawbridge came down gracefully.  When I turned back to the wall, I saw it down, but that wasn’t the scary part.

Guards were walking out on horseback, escorting someone out of the castle.  From where I was, I couldn’t see who they were bringing out.  Looked like some sort of prisoner.

          At the end of the drawbridge, the guards in the front opened up to let the prisoner in the middle of the escort move forward.  Even from the distance, I could tell that they were limping, and badly from the looks of it.

          As this person moved off the drawbridge and onto the grass in front, a guard pushed them forward faster with the end of his spear.  The prisoner stumbled forward, and I got a glance of who it was.  It was a centaur, and they were bleeding from a wound on its foreleg.

          The centaur turned my way to glare weakly at the guards returning to their castle.  As I saw his face, I let out a gasp.

          The prisoner was Frienzis.


	5. A Life Saved

I was so shocked.   _How?_  I thought, panicked.   _How did this happen?  How could have this happened?!_

[Mira, I know how this happened, _now._ I didn’t then.  Now, let me continue.]

          As Frienzis limped into the trees across from the castle gates, I moved -silently mind you- closer to where he was moving.  After he was out of sight and hearing range of the castle, I followed him deeper into the forest.

          Again, I became at peace as I went deeper.  My hearing and eyesight sharpened, despite the dark of night.  Again, I felt at ease.  I felt like I was home once again.  What exactly is this?

          I could easily keep up with Frienzis.  But, then again, he was hurt, so I couldn’t really call it a fair advantage.

          After who knows how long, I knew I was far enough away from the castle.  I moved silently in front of Frienzis, through and behind the bushes along the trail he was on.  After I was a few meters in front of him, I moved off of the makeshift trail I made and onto the one Frienzis was on.

          “Frienzis!” I said quietly. “What happened?”

          Frienzis stopped suddenly, looking shocked.  He looked down at me, holding his injured leg up, not high enough so it’s obvious he’s in pain, but enough where I could tell he is.

          “I’m alright, little one,” he said softly, failing to hide just how much pain he’s in. “Just had a small run in with a thorn bush.”

          “Then why were you in that fortress, Frienzis?” I inquired.

          Again, Frienzis looked shocked.  He looked behind him quickly before answering. “Let’s get to the clearing before I say anything.  We’re too close to the outpost.”

          “Frienzis we’re out of earshot,” I said. “I made sure of that.  Can you please just tell me here?  Were they the ones that hurt you?”

          Frienzis looked slightly worried, but sighed and said, “Yes, the people in that Royal Outpost were the ones that hurt me.”

          “But who are they, Frienzis?” I asked. “I want to know so they don’t hurt you again.  You’ve done too much for me and my friends.”

          He didn’t look happy, but said, “The person that ordered the guards in that castle was the Captain of the Royal Guard, who is viewed as the second in command to King Alvah.”

          I gasped slightly, my eyes growing wide with fear and shock. “But why?”

          Frienzis just shook his head slowly. “I went to ask the Captain of the Royal Guard about my mother’s death.  He said it wasn’t my business.  But how was it not?  It was my mother’s death at his hands…  I challenged him, about why he was ordered by the King to kill my mother.  He didn’t deny it, nor did he say he did.  He didn’t tell me anything…”

He sighed. “When the Captain told me to leave, I refused.  I said I wouldn’t leave until he told me why they killed her.  He just laughed and called for the guards.  They pushed and shoved at me to move.  When I wouldn’t, they cut my leg.  I never stood a chance against them.  That’s when they pushed me out of the drawbridge and, well… you know the rest.”

          That’s when Frienzis turned to fully look at me. “And somehow, you found me here.  I think your power is growing faster than you realized.”

          “But Frienzis,” I protested. “I don’t know what my power is!  I don’t know what I can do.  I don’t even know how I found you.” I looked up at him, starting to feel miserable.  “Yeah, I guess I can find my way around this forest, but I’ve always been good at tracking.  How is this different then what I’ve done before?”

          All Frienzis did was look at me, his eyes flickering in the low light of the forest.  He then said, “You will see, little one.  Now, let’s get back to your camp, for your friends are surely worried about you.”

          So with that, we slowly made our way back to camp.  It took us longer to get back, seeing how Frienzis is hurt, and we both agreed to stay off the main trails.  “The King might still be looking for me. Let’s not risk running into the Royal Guard,” Frienzis had said.

          As we walked back, I realized how tired and hungry I was.  I hadn’t had food since the other day, and I’ve been hiking for hours.  When I looked up, I saw that the sun almost straight up in the sky.

          _It must be close to noon_ , I thought.

          Soon after that we were back into the clearing that our camp was in.  I saw Mira and Dawn sitting around the fire with their backs to us.  After one look, I saw how miserable they were.

          In a few moments, Frienzis and I were only a few feet behind my friends.  I grinned and said somewhat loudly, “My, my. Since when did my best friends mope around, waiting for something that’s already here?”

          At the sound of my voice Mira and Dawn whipped around to face me, standing up as they did so.

          “Synthia!” Mira screamed before tackling me in a hug. “Where have you been?  We were worried sick!”

          “Frienzis!” Dawn cried out, looking past me to stare at Frienzis. “You’re hurt!”

          As Frienzis and I made our way to the fire pit, my friends got up and rushed over to meet us half way.  Frienzis was limping badly at this point, and almost collapsed once we reached the fire.  Dawn and I was able to keep him from falling, before easing him to the ground.  He was breathing heavily and his eyes were closed tightly against the pain. 

          “Mira,” I said. “Get the first-aid kit.  Now.”

          Mira blinked heavily, looking frantic.  “Where is it?”

          “It’s in my bag!” I snapped.  “Dawn, get me that water bottle!”

          She sprinted into the hut, emerging within moments with my backpack.  At the same time Dawn hands me the water bottle.  Before I could say anything to Mira, she’s digging through my bag, quickly finding the first-aid kit.  She tosses it to me, just as fast. 

Grabbing it, I set it down on the grassy ground searching for cloth wraps.  I poured water on Frienzis wound to clean it, making him grunt faintly in pain.  After that I quickly wrapped his foreleg with the cloth wraps, keeping it tight enough to add pressure but not enough to cut off circulation.  Blood immediately seeps through the cloth, staining it a deep red, but it’s not as heavy as before.  I look up to see Frienzis’s eyes are still closed tightly, but he’s not breathing as heavy as before.

“Frienzis..?” I asked slowly.

Eventually, he opens his eyes to look at me.  He looks extremely tired and worn out, but he smiles weakly.  “I will be find, little one.  Thank you.  If it weren’t for you, I might not have made it.”

“Think nothing of it,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief, my friends doing the same behind us.  “It’s the least we can do after how much you’ve been helping us.”

By the time the sky turned dark, we had piled soft grass around Frienzis, making a makeshift bed for the night.  He gratefully, feel into deep slumber. 

As I laid in my own sleeping spot outside, not wanting to be trapped inside the small hut, a thought came to me.  If I didn’t follow Frienzis, if I didn’t listen to that strange urge inside me, our new friend would’ve died.  I saved his life.


	6. The Choice

Days passed quickly after our return.  The clearing we are staying in was becoming more and more like home.  The grass was cut away to as far as the forest.  We used this grass to make a better bed for Frienzis.  Any leftovers we had we used for our hut.  Branches and logs were piled by the makeshift fire-pit.  Due to a storm that came in, we’ve reinforced the roof by adding more leafy branches to block the rain more.  Diana came over once with some friends of hers to check on Frienzis.  They also brought a small axe for us, which made cutting wood much easier.  I don’t know how they managed this, but we were grateful either way. 

[Dawn, I know I’m protective of my pocket knife.  Anything new?]

Frienzis still couldn’t walk, but he was recovering extremely fast.  When he wasn’t resting, he was supervising our work or telling us more about Agradith.  However, he always seemed to stay off the topic of the King and the chaos that’s now here.  Frienzis tended to tell us more about the way this world once was.  But something was weighing on his mind, as was mine.

We’re running out of supplies.  We ran out of granola bars this afternoon, and we can’t survive on berries alone.  Water isn’t a huge problem, since we found a creek nearby.  I do remember seeing some berries further out on the trip to that outpost, but I don’t want to go that far away from camp or that close to enemy territory.  So I’m left with a major conflict.  Go hungry, or send someone to go find the nearest town or market and get supplies.  And clearly, that someone can’t be Frienzis which would be the ideal option.

As I worked on setting up the fire-pit for the night, I fell deep into thought.  _We have to work out something soon,_ I thought.  _But what could we do?  Frienzis can’t move enough to leave the camp, and the fairies don’t like large groups, even if they were big enough to get everything we need.  What am I going to do?_

I felt a hand on my shoulder, pulling me from my thoughts.  I looked up to find that Frienzis had moved to sit (lay?) next to me.  “Something troubling you, Synthia?”

I hummed softly before looking off into the trees.  “Frienzis, is there a market or maybe a small town nearby?”

I saw the centaur nod faintly out of the edge of my vision.  “Yes, there is a market nearby, a small thing called Hollowlyn.  It is well known for its dwarvian weapons and metal work, even though it is the farthest village with such supply on this side of Mermaid Lake.  However, because of this, it is overrun with the Royal Guard.  Not a safe place for me to be in currently, even if I was healed completely.”  He sighed, looking down at his wound before focusing a curious gaze on me.  “Why do you ask?”

“Frienzis,” I said slowly, thinking of the best way to phrase this.  “I think I should go to Hollowlyn for supplies.”

Before I even finished my sentence Frienzis’s face went from curious to grave.  “Absolutely not.  You aren’t ready for that yet.”

“But Frienzis,” I argued.  “We need to get supplies.  Already we ran out of food, and we need better tools, not to mention weapons.  There’s no way around this, my friend.”

Frienzis looked up suddenly at that, shock covering his face.  After some time and obvious deep thought, he started nodding slowly.  “Yes, I suppose this is necessary.  We will discuss this more later.”

“No, Frienzis,” I said calmly.  “We need to talk about this now, else you’ll continue to put it off.”

For some time, Frienzis looked deep in thought.  I could see the argument playing in his mind, going back and forth from what he wants and what we need.  Eventually, he let out a sigh, bowing his head.  “Very well.  I will discuss more with you on what you need to do in the market, as well has how to act.  I am assuming you plan to leave at dawn?”

I nodded.  “Maybe even before that, depending on how long it’ll take me to get there.”

The centaur besides me hums thoughtfully.  “If that is the case, you should arrive at the market by noon.  While it is one of the smaller markets in the area, it is still significantly large.  And as I mentioned before, it is under the watch of the Royal Guard, as are most places these days.”

“What should I do if they question me?”  I asked, reaching to the side for my flint and steel, working on actually setting the semi-wet wood alight.  Multitasking is amazing.

[Honestly, Dawn.  My life is literally all multitasking.  Talking with you now is proof of that.]

“I will help you come up with a false name and back story,” eased Frienzis.  “Once you get past the gates of the market, you should have little to no problems.  I have not been to this market personally, but each layout is somewhat the same.  The outskirts of the market will consist of food, meats, herbs, the sorts.  Weaponry and hunting materials will lie towards the center.”

“Why is that?”  I asked.  “Is it so the Guards can keep order easier?”

“Precisely,” he said, smiling faintly.  “I recommend heading there first, since there are times where the blacksmiths have to prepare orders.  From there you can get any other supplies you need if the blacksmith needs time to prepare your order.”

“Makes sense.”  Frowning in concentration, I give the flint one more struck, the sparks lighting the wood, unlike the past who-knows-how-many times.  “Yes!  Got it!  Fastest time yet!”

Frienzis chuckled at my little personal victory.  “Well done, little one.”

I looked up at him, smiling broadly, feeling proud of myself.  Dawn and Mira walked over from their tasks throughout the day, seeing that the fire was made for the night.  They looked confused at why I was so happy, but, thankfully, they didn’t question it.

“So,” Dawn asked as she sat down.  “What’s the plan, Synthia?”

“Well,” I started.  “You aren’t going to like the plan.”

My sister rolled her eyes.  “Honestly, Synthia.  When do we ever like your plans?”

“How ‘bout the time I took you and helped you get a ton of sugar, so you pretty much slept for a full twenty-four hours due to the sugar-crash?”  I said rolling my eyes, my voice dripping with sarcasm.  

Mira hummed faintly, smiling at the memory.  “Great idea, I know.  Anyways, continue, please, my dear sister.” 

“You sure?”  I asked.  “Don’t have anything else to say?  Like, I don’t know, what you want for dinner?”

“Ha, ha,” said Dawn, yawning softly.  “Very funny.  Seriously, though.  What’s the plan?”

“Thank you, Dawn, for getting us back on track!”  I said, clapping my hands for emphasize as Mira glared at me.  “So, Frienzis told me about this small market called Hollowlyn, not too far from here.  Tomorrow morning, I plan to head out to this market.”  I hold my hand up, stopping the slew of questions about to come from my friends.  “I will be getting a lot of things.  Food, tools, and weapons are the key ones.  Frienzis said he had some gold that I could take to buy everything we need.”

“But Synthia!” exclaimed Mira.  “You don’t know what’s out there!  Sure, Frienzis could teach you, but that doesn’t prepare you the same way.  You know this from experience.”

“Mira’s right,” said Dawn.  “I don’t think you should go alone.”

I sighs heavily, rubbing my eyes with one hand.  “No one has seen us here yet, besides the fairies and Frienzis, and it would bring less attention to ourselves if I go alone.  Going alone keeps us all hidden for much longer, trust me.”

“What about coming back?” asked my sister.  “You’ll have all this stuff on you, then add to the fact that you’ll be alone?  You’d be the perfect target for thieves.”

I grinned faintly.  “I’ll also have weapons at that point.  Even if they did disarm me, you know I have my ways of getting out of those kinds of situations.  You taught me them, after all.”

Mira looked thoughtful for a moment.  Obviously, she forgot that she trained me in her ways.  I love her so much.

[I’m taking back what I just said ‘cause of that punch.  Owe!  Don’t punch me!]

“Ugh, fine!” grumbled Mira.  “You’d go without our permission, anyways, so it’s not like you need our approval.”  Dawn looked at her like she was insane.

“You are right, my dear sister!”  I clapped happily.  I calmed down, moving around the fire before us to lay my hand on my sister’s shoulder.  “But thank you.  Knowing you agree with me makes it easier for me to leave.  And you know I need to have a clear head out there.”

“Yeah, yeah.” she said, rolling her eyes.  She moved a hand to rest on my own, putting her head down slightly.  “I don’t like it, but I know you have to do this.” 

 “That I do,” I replied, smiling faintly.  “I’ll leave at first light.”

“When do you think you’ll be back?” questioned Dawn.

Frienzis, who has been quiet for most of the conversation, said, “The market is only a couple hours walk, for your kind, in each direction.  Depending on how long Synthia takes to find everything you all need, she should be back after nightfall, or the following morning.”

“Thank you, Frienzis,” I said.  “I should have plenty of time, and I won’t be gone long. 

Everything went quiet.  I could tell my friends still weren’t okay with this, but had accepted my decision.  That alone made me feel a little bit better about leaving.  It means a lot to me knowing they have my back, no matter what. 

However, I do have my misgivings.  All of their concerns where valid, as much as I wanted to put their minds at ease.  I don’t know the terrain yet, not including that one trip when I found Frienzis.  But even then, I wasn’t paying full attention to my surroundings and was really following my gut feeling.  I don’t know what to expect, from a market like this, or how people would react to a teen walking around alone. 

I sighed softly, standing up from my spot on the ground.  “I think I’m going to turn in for the night.  Gotta long day ahead, tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” said Mira.  “I’ll follow in a bit.  I wanna watch the stars tonight.”

“Alright,” I said, smiling faintly.  “Just don’t stay up to late, ‘kay?”

My sister scoffed softly, never taking her eyes off of the stars above.  “Yes, mom, I understand.”

“Night, Synthia,” said Dawn.

I made my way to the hut, closing the makeshift door behind me.  As I curled up in the pile of leaves and soft brush that served at my bed, I couldn’t help think about my life before this.  Sure, my siblings annoyed me and I was bullied a fair amount, but I was happy.  I didn’t have to worry about food or shelter or someone trying to steal powers I didn’t know I had.  I only had to worry about my grades and surviving high school.

Here, though, I don’t have to worry about high school or bullies or siblings.  I have to worry about safety, my friends, surviving a king who is power crazed… that last thought was becoming really disturbing.  I don’t see how three girls could live in a strange world alone when everything was flipped upside-down.  It seems impossible.

I sighed softly, rolling over on my side.  Surprisingly, sleep welcomed me gratefully. 


End file.
